Presumed Innocent

The next morning, Nico reports that they still haven’t found the glass. The four lawyers argue over whether the glass can be discussed in the trial. Rusty is nervous, knowing that the judge could rule either way. In the end, the judge rules for the prosecution, noting how important the glass is for their case, and that its loss doesn’t seem to be in bad faith. He doesn’t want the case to be dismissed because of police negligence because Rusty would never truly be cleared. Rusty reflects that he would’ve done the same.

Rusty runs into Nico in the courthouse bathroom. Nico attempts to find out if Barbara is going to testify, but Rusty deflects. He tells Nico to investigate the B file to find something interesting about Tommy. Nico pretends not to care, but Rusty can tell that he is bothered. In the lobby, Jamie tells Rusty he has a lead and leaves.

When the trial begins that day, Judge Lyttle cautions the jury that they will hear testimony about a fingerprinted glass that has been lost, that the defense hasn’t been able to examine. He tells the jury that this fact alone may be enough to establish reasonable doubt, and Tommy is visibly infuriated.

The prosecution calls Morrie Dickerman as an expert witness on the fingerprints. During his cross-examination, Sandy points out that there is no way to know how long ago a fingerprint was made. Dickerman agrees and says that fingerprints may even survive the glass being washed. Sandy also points out that there is a third, unidentified, fingerprint on the glass, and that Rusty’s fingerprints appeared nowhere else in the house. In addition, there were other unidentified fingerprints in the house. He asks Dickerman if Tommy asked Dickerman to compare the unidentified fingerprints to each other. When Dickerman says no, Tommy appears either negligent or purposeful. Rusty realizes the tables have turned again, and the jury is back on his side.

Next, Tommy questions a woman who testifies that she saw Rusty on the bus the night of Carolyn’s death. Rusty reflects that Tommy is beginning to look like a prosecutor who will stop at nothing to win his case. During Sandy’s cross-examination, the woman clarifies that she told Tommy that she’d seen Rusty at the bus stop before but isn’t sure whether he was the white man she saw the night of Carolyn’s death. She says that she told Tommy this.

When the trial adjourns for the day, Sandy tells Rusty to take the night off. Rusty wants to know why, and what Jamie is doing, but Sandy won’t tell him, except to say that it concerns his cross-examination of Kumagai tomorrow.

Rusty and Barbara go out to dinner. Barbara asks how the trial is going, specifically about the hair and fiber lab report. Then she asks about Kumagai, and what his testimony might reveal. Rusty is uncomfortable with the conversation, and Barbara tells him he is being distant. Rusty feels an anger that reminds him of his father. He waits until it subsides, then takes her hands and tells her that he is just “trying to get to the end” (328).

Barbara tells him that she has gotten calls from Nat’s summer camp—he is waking up every night with nightmares, and the director recommends sending him home. They both agree, but the fact that Barbara didn’t tell him about this irritates him.

When they get home, Rusty gets a phone call from Lip, who tells him he has a lead on Leon Wells. They arrange to meet the next night.

Dr. Kumagai is the prosecution’s last witness, and their questioning of him goes better than Rusty expected. Kumagai’s job in this instance is to offer his opinion, considering forensic evidence about what happened. Kumagai tells the court that, in his opinion, Carolyn had consensual sex on the night of her death with someone whose blood type is the same as Rusty’s. She was then hit from behind with a blunt object and died. Her diaphragm was removed, and she was bound. In his opinion, rape was simulated to cover up the real crime. He also says that when he spoke with Rusty about his findings, Rusty was argumentative.

Before Sandy’s cross-examination, Jamie tells Rusty about his errand the day before: They found out that Kumagai made a mistake. In his questioning, Sandy brings up the complaints in Kumagai’s personnel file. He then gets Kumagai to admit that he was feeding Tommy information during Rusty’s investigation. Then, Sandy turns the conversation to the contraceptive jelly, on which rests Kumagai’s opinion that the rape was faked. Sandy asks why a woman who can’t conceive would use contraception. Kumagai claims not to know this about Carolyn. Sandy produces Kumagai’s pathology report, which says that Carolyn had a tubal ligation. Sandy presses Kumagai and gets him to admit to the possibility that the contraceptive jelly sample was accidentally taken from another autopsy.

After court, Rusty wonders if the judge will dismiss the case after the prosecution rests, which he can do if the case doesn’t seem to have enough merit. Sandy, however, doesn’t think he will—it would be an unusual move. They talk about the defense’s case, which will begin after the prosecution rests. Sandy wants to have Barbara testify, but Rusty says no. Rusty wants to testify himself, but Sandy points out that the possible dangers are worse than the potential advantages. Sandy admits that he knows Rusty has been keeping things from him and doesn’t want to risk unexpected things coming out in court.

After Sandy leaves, Jamie confesses that he thinks Rusty is being framed. Rusty tells him he’s known that for a while now. When Jamie asks who he thinks it is, however, Rusty doesn’t answer directly. He implies that it is Tommy, to stop him from looking into the B file.

Lip comes to Rusty’s house that night to pick him up. He has found Leon Wells, who turns out to be a Night Saint. They drive to the Grace Street projects and bang on Leon’s door. It swings open, and in the dark, they hear a gun being cocked and dive for the floor. When Lip tells Leon that they are cops, however, he lets them inside to talk. Lip asks Leon about the $1500 bribe. Leon tells them that Carolyn set up the bribe, and that he gave the money to Judge Lyttle. Lip and Rusty discuss their discovery afterward and realize that Tommy wasn’t involved.

The next morning at court, the prosecution wants Tommy to testify. Judge Lyttle, however, won’t allow it based on their previous conversation. Nico pivots, saying they want Dr. Robinson, Rusty’s psychiatrist, to testify instead. Sandy points out that Nico wants him to object so that when the prosecution’s case fails, they can blame it on not having Robinson’s testimony. The judge agrees to allow Robinson’s testimony, but not about privileged information.

Tommy questions Dr. Robinson, who refuses to offer privileged information. Tommy asks the doctor if Rusty ever told him that he killed Carolyn. The courtroom explodes with noise. Rusty tells Sandy they shouldn’t object to the question, but when Tommy sees this, he wants to withdraw the question. Judge Lyttle won’t let him withdraw it, and Robinson answers “no.” The judge excuses Robinson against Tommy’s objections, and the prosecution rests.

Judge Lyttle announces that normally the jury would be excused for the day, and the defense’s case would begin in the morning. However, instead, he dismisses the case, citing a lack of sufficient evidence. Rusty is free.

Rusty, Sandy, and Barbara use Rusty’s secret exit to leave the courtroom. Outside Sandy’s office, they make statements to the press. Barbara leaves, and Rusty has the sense that something is still missing between them. The offices are crowded with people celebrating, but Rusty takes a walk. He buys newspapers, and the articles about his case all blame Nico. He sits on a park bench, thinking, until the sun goes down.

Barbara is picking up Nat from summer camp, and Rusty wants to go home and see him. However, he goes back to Sandy’s office first. Nearly everyone is gone, but Sandy is still there, already working on another case. Rusty admits that he doesn’t understand Judge Lyttle’s dismissal and believes that something is off. He tells Sandy about Carolyn and Lyttle’s bribery scheme, wondering if that’s the reason. Sandy, however, already knows and still believes that it wasn’t a factor in the judge’s decision. Rusty accuses Sandy of bringing up the B file repeatedly during the trial as a subtle threat to Lyttle, a way to pressure him to end the case. In the end, Sandy admits that he did just that, and Rusty is angry and disapproving. Sandy, however, still believes that the judge dismissed the case for the right reasons.

Rusty reflects on Carolyn: His view of her has changed throughout the case. 

Rusty vacillates between elation and sadness in the weeks following his case’s dismissal. He is at home but still officially works for the PA’s office, as Nico doesn’t have an excuse to fire him. The general attitude in the legal and political arenas is that Nico was trying to make a case for his political career, and Tommy manufactured evidence. Rusty feels no need to counter those rumors and tell everyone that those are his fingerprints on the glass, his sperm inside Carolyn, carpet fibers from his home, and the calls from his home are legitimate.

Mac asks Rusty to speak at her induction as a judge. It is his first “public outing,” and he realizes he is seen as somewhat of a local hero. At the induction, Nico isn’t present, but Raymond is. Raymond tells him they should have lunch, and Rusty walks away. Raymond stops him and rephrases it as a question, and Rusty agrees.

Rusty has lunch with Raymond in his office—they both know it would be better if they aren’t seen out to lunch together. Raymond tells Rusty that petitions are circulating for Nico’s recall, and the mayor has withdrawn his support. He tries to apologize, saying that Nico and Tommy made him believe Rusty was guilty. Rusty suddenly explodes, asking Raymond how he could believe Nico after everything Rusty has done for him over the past 12 years. Raymond apologizes again and asks Rusty what he will do next. Rusty sarcastically floats the idea of becoming a judge, and Raymond takes him seriously, saying that he and Lyttle will help. Rusty says he doesn’t want their help.

When Rusty brings up the B file, Raymond immediately understands that Rusty knows the truth about Carolyn, Lyttle, and the bribery scheme. However, he maintains that he didn’t know what the B file was about when Carolyn asked to handle it. Rusty doesn’t believe him, and he doesn’t believe that he handed it off to Rusty casually.

Raymond says again that he wants to help Rusty find a new position, but Rusty gets up to leave. Raymond tries to hug him, but Rusty pushes him away. Raymond asks Rusty who he thinks killed Carolyn, but Rusty says nothing. 

In October, Rusty is fixing his backyard fence using a tool called a Whatchamacallit, a “kind of cross between a hammer’s claw and a crowbar” (405). After the trial, Rusty had gone to use it and had seen “a crust of blood and one blonde hair clinging to the edge of one of the two teeth” (405). He washed it off, and Barbara found him and stopped to stare, but he acted casual.

Now, Rusty goes inside and finds Barbara. He tells her he thinks they should move back to the city. Barbara tells him that she took a job teaching college in Detroit, hundreds of miles away. She had wanted to wait until the trial was over to tell him and is due to start in the spring. She plans to take Nat with her, and while Rusty knows he can fight it, he doesn’t want to put the family through it.

Rusty offers to come to Detroit, but Barbara insists that his career will just be taking off in Kindle County. He is surprised to realize that she doesn’t know how he feels about politics. Rusty, who is nearly 40, thinks back over the life he has built with Barbara and what went wrong.

Rusty talks about his obsession with Carolyn, and all the time he’s spent thinking about Carolyn’s death and why she had to die. The only thing he can come up with is that it was for the family. Barbara begins to cry and apologizes. She tells Rusty that she always intended to tell him the truth, and if she’d been called to testify, she would’ve told the truth in court as well. Rusty knows this, which is why he didn’t want her to testify. However, he knows that even if she did confess, no one would believe that she killed Carolyn.

Barbara is relieved that the truth is out in the open. She tells him that she doesn’t believe she will ever be “normal” if they stay together. The reality of Carolyn’s death wasn’t what she expected, and when Rusty was charged with murder, she regretted it. Rusty says that he shares the blame with Barbara, but she won’t accept that. She leaves the room, and Rusty knows that she will cry for a while, then dry her eyes and begin packing.

In late November, Rusty runs into Nico downtown. He tells Nico that he and Barbara are separated, and Nat is staying with him until Barbara gets settled in Detroit. Nico tells Rusty that he knows everyone thinks he set Rusty up, but he didn’t. Rusty says he knows. Nico tells him that it looks like the recall will go through, and his career is finished. He finds humor in the fact that Rusty could’ve beaten him in the election a year ago and could beat him again now.

Rusty’s house in Nearing is nearly packed. Nat and Barbara are already in Detroit. He remembers when his father packed his mother’s apartment after her death. His father had moved to Arizona, and Rusty had never seen him again. When his father died, the woman he lived with called Rusty, and he and Barbara went to pack up his father’s things.

Now, the doorbell rings, and Rusty finds Lip on his porch, with a Christmas present for Rusty. In the box, Rusty finds the missing fingerprinted glass. Lip tells him that when he picked up the glass from the lab, he had already been removed from the case, and the glass had already been marked as returned to evidence by Tommy, a sloppy mistake.

Rusty realizes that Lip’s move means he believes Rusty killed Carolyn, and then Lip asks him straight out. Instead of responding, Rusty puts the fingerprinted glass on the counter next to his own glassware, which is waiting to be packed. It is the same, and the fingerprinted glass makes it a set of 12.

Rusty tells Lip how Barbara came to kill Carolyn: She’d arranged it so that Rusty would know she did it. She brought a bar glass from their home, which matched Carolyn’s perfectly, knowing that Rusty would recognize it. She also knew that he would have to keep the information to himself because it would point to him. Lip realizes that the reason Rusty asked him to not follow up on his home phone records was because he knew Barbara had called Carolyn’s home on the day of her death. She asked Carolyn if she could come over to talk, then went to the university to log into the computer lab and set the computer on a task so that it would look like she was there. Then, she’d gone to Carolyn’s house, killed her with the Whatchamacallit, tied her up, and simulated the rape, leaving traces of Rusty’s sperm, which she’d collected from her own diaphragm.

However, Barbara hadn’t known about forensic evidence like hair and fibers, or the record of her phone call. When Rusty was charged with murder, it surprised her. She felt sorry for him and became overly supportive. Their relationship began to repair, but she couldn’t forget what she’d done. Lip asks why Rusty didn’t call her out, but Rusty didn’t want to put Nat through it. He also knows that, despite everything, Nat is happy and safe with Barbara.

Lip points out that Rusty seems willing to accept that the things that pointed Carolyn’s murder in his direction were “accidents.” He theorizes that Barbara knew exactly what she was doing and wanted Rusty in jail for Carolyn’s murder. Rusty admits he’s considered that. He also points out that he could’ve framed Barbara himself and sees a look of doubt cross Lip’s face.

In January, Nico is recalled from his position as prosecuting attorney. The mayor forms a committee to identify a new PA and asks Raymond to be on it. Soon after, Raymond calls Rusty and offers him the job. In March, just four days before the anniversary of Carolyn’s murder, he becomes interim prosecuting attorney. Rusty doesn’t plan for the position after his interim term is up.

Carolyn’s murder is never solved. Rusty visits Detroit most weekends, and he and Barbara have developed a new relationship. Now, when Rusty thinks about Carolyn, he can’t understand his obsession with her. He saw both her power and her suffering and believed that she had triumphed, but she hadn’t. Now, he recognizes those same aspects of her in himself.